The Drive Back to Christchurch Airport

Heading back to Christchurch we decided to take the scenic inland route. The first stop off point was Rakaia Gorge, a stunning spot and we watched the fisherman fishing for salmon and trout.




Glacial waters again made the river so blue.





Next stop, Lake Coleridge, which we discovered to be the source for a hydro electric power station. The wind was up so big waves on the lake.




The view back down the Rakaia river valley.

Glacier Explorers Trip on Tasman Glacier Lake

This afternoon we booked to go on a boat trip on the Tasman glacier lake and the opportunity to see the icebergs. The lake is full of rock flour so very cloudy but pure to drink.




The boats are small and can get close up to those icebergs that are the most stable, and a stunning backdrop of Mt Cook and Mt Tasman. The majority of the icebergs in the lake broke off during the Christchurch earthquake back in February.




We were able to taste some of the ice that was floating in the water.






We were very fortunate to see one of the icebergs turning and revealing the blue ice which is normally only under the water. The blue will only last about an hour before it turns white for exposure to the air.



Some of the icebergs were small and strange shapes.




We then went up to the Tasman Glacier, not too close in case any more ice broke off. The top of glacier is dirty with stones on top but can see the white ice underneath. The glacier is still retreating and the lake is expected to grow another 10km in length in the future. A most stunning trip and recommended!

Mt Cook & Walk To Kea Point

Today we drove to Mt Cook, NZ's highest mountain, and once again fortunate with the weather. Beautiful blue skies meant we had great views of the mountain as we drove up the approach road.




Once we got to the Hermitage Hotel (the main resort in the township) we decided to do the walk to Kea Point which took us across the bush towards the mountains.




At the end of the walk we had great views to Mt Cook across the Mueller glacier lake.





And to the left Mt Sefton and Mt Footstool with the Mueller glacier.





The view back down the valley to the Hermitage hotel. Unfortunately no sighting of the cheeky kea birds.

Mt John Observatory & The Night Sky

Mt John overlooks Lake Tekapo and the township and due to the low levels of artificial light is renowned as one of the best places to see the night sky. The view from the top is also pretty special.





There are several telescopes housed at the observatory at the top of the hill. These are used by the University of Canterbury along with some Japanese scientists.




As the evening was so clear we booked to go on the 11pm night sky tour where we got to look through the telescopes at the amazing night sky. I gave my camera to the resident photography expert who managed to get this fantastic shot of the milky way and Southern Cross constellation.




Long exposures meant that he managed to get these photos. The end of the tour was the opportunity to look through the largest telescope where we got to see Saturn and its rings - too far away to get a picture of that though.

Church of the Good Shepherd & Sheepdog Statue

Two of the most iconic NZ sites are at Lake Tekapo. The Church of the Good Shepherd is probably the most photographed church in NZ.

The view from the window at the back of the church is pretty spectacular and not surprisingly is a popular wedding spot.

At night we played around with the camera to do a long exposure shot of the moon and church.

The bronze sheepdog statue was erected by sheep farmers from the surrounding Mackenzie basin as an appreciation of how the collie dog makes hillside farming possible.

Salmon Farm

Just down the road from Lake Tekapo is the amazing Mt Cook salmon farm. We had a go feeding the fish but the water was too cloudy to see them.

So instead we bought some to eat - hot smoked salmon for sandwiches and fresh fillet for dinner. It was yum!

Lake Tekapo

For our wedding anniversary this year we headed back to the South Island and a long weekend at Lake Tekapo. Our accommodation was a wooden house with the most amazing views out over the lake.





The rock flour particles caused by the glaciers carving up the rocks are in the lake giving it the amazing turquoise colour, the contrast can be seen in the photo comparing the typical blue colour of Lake Alexandrina to the left.




The township of Lake Tekapo is small, only about 300 inhabitants, however these numbers are swelled each day with tourists passing through on the route between Christchurch and Queenstown. Typically they stop for less than 30 minutes so miss the true beauty of the place.

The view from the deck as the sun was setting across the lake.